When a designer dies, the first logical step is establishing an archive or donating the already existing archive to an institution. Some designers, though, leave behind estates that can be rather large and difficult to manage by the heirs, when and if there are any.
In the case of Karl Lagerfeld, rather than just an archive, there is indeed a huge estate left that is currently being auctioned at Sotheby's. 
The estate is actually so vast that there are multiple sessions, both live and online, kicking off today, but continuing till March next year (Part I, Auction in Monaco, 4th and 5th December 2021, and Online till 6th December 2021; Part II, Auction in Paris, 14th and 15th December 2021 and Online from 6th to 16th December 2021; Part III, Auction in Cologne in March 2022). The various sessions feature more than 1,000 lots from Lagerfeld's residences in France and Monaco, that the auction house defines as "an anthology of his personal taste but also of his life and career."
Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, worked for the house of Chanel for four decades and his estate includes quite a few pieces that link him to his role there, including Chanel bags, sets of his trademark fingerless gloves and a beaded brooch representing Coco Chanel by Marianne Batlle. 
Yet the best and most intriguing pieces from the auctions aren't connected with Chanel and with fashion (even though there are plenty of lots for fashion fans here, such as suit jackets by Dior, Saint Laurent, Comme des Garçons and Martin Margiela…), but with interior design, art and architecture.
The first session of sales includes, for example, a selection of furniture by Louis Süe and André Mare, benches, chairs and tables, as well as works in silver, household linens, flatware, glassware and tea and coffee sets (check out Josef Hoffmann's 1929 colourful melon model coffee service) – all illustrations of Karl Lagerfeld's lavish lifestyle. 
Lagerfeld was an insatiable and eclectic collector (this means that the auctions feature a bit of everything, from Tokidoki dolls or Joe Colombo's Shu Lamp, to three Rolls Royces…), with a genuine passion for the Memphis group but also for Art Deco, or for modern pieces by Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons and Joana Vasconcelos.
The latter did for him a sculpture of Choupette, Lagerfeld's beloved cat, consisting in an earthenware cat by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, covered in Azores crocheted lace.
Among some of the most interesting pieces there are sketches by Lagerfeld himself for shoes and for interior design projects showing a counter or a bar. One sketch features a drawing of a high-heeled shoe with the heel formed by the hilt of a sword, an image cut from a magazine, a clever idea that shows the creative process of the designer.
If you love fashion illustrations, check out Pierre Legrain's stylised "Le manteau rouge bordé d'hermine" (1914) or the simply gorgeous works by Georges Lepape, such as his pencil, ink and watercolour "La cape admirable" (1922), that shows some connections with Lagerfeld's designs for Chanel.
While not many of us mere mortals may be able to buy a piece from these auctions, it remains fascinating browsing through the various lots and looking for inspirations in this treasure trove.
